Espinosa's mother and father left the Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1980s. All seven of Espinosa's siblings followed later, arriving as late as 1994.

Espinosa's immigration was not as easy.

Jennifer Andelin, who worked with former Rep. Jason Chaffetz and now with Rep. John Curtis, has been pressing Espinosa's case for several years.

"Forty years is a terribly long time to be separated from family members while waiting for a U.S. visa," Andelin said. "Corazon's immigration story is just one example of how our immigration system is failing those who abide by the law and try to immigrate legally."

Andelin outlined Espinosa's case, which dates back to 1978 when Zenaida Sigua filed an immigration petition for her daughter.

After that petition was filed, Espinosa moved to Sydney and married an Australian, which caused her application to be cancelled. Espinosa's mother filed a new petition after becoming a U.S. citizen in 1984.

The petition failed as officials reported no record of it years later. Another petition was filed in 1994 and nothing happened.

Going through several bureaucratic hurdles over the years, another petition was cancelled when Espinosa's mother died in May 2010. Her sister brought the case to Chaffetz's office in 2012.

Andelin, his adviser, pushed the case with U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service, the Office of Legislative Affairs and the House Judiciary Committee.

In November 2013, Espinosa's visa petition was approved. A priority date arrived in October 2017. Espinosa's visa also allowed her husband to immigrate.

OPINION This week’s report is a reminder that in a little over a month, April 30, the majority of Canadians need to complete and file their 2017 Canada Income Tax returns to avoid potential late penalties.